--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Every man is a missionary, now and…" description: "\"Every man is a missionary, now and forever, for good or for evil, whether he intends or designs it or not. He may be a blot radiating his dark influenc..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/872/thomas-chalmers-14874_benediction_every-man-is-a-missionary-now-and-foreve_9099.jpg" --- # Every man is a missionary, now and forever, for good or… ![“Every man is a missionary, now and forever, for good or for evil, whether he intends or designs it or not. He may be a blot radiating his dark influence outward to the very circumference of society, or he may be a blessing spreading benediction over the length and breadth of the world. But a blank…” quote by Thomas Chalmers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/872/thomas-chalmers-14874_benediction_every-man-is-a-missionary-now-and-foreve_9099.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/872/thomas-chalmers-14874_benediction_every-man-is-a-missionary-now-and-foreve_9099.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/872/thomas-chalmers-14874_benediction_every-man-is-a-missionary-now-and-foreve_9099.jpg) > “Every man is a missionary, now and forever, for good or for evil, whether he intends or designs it or not. He may be a blot radiating his dark influence outward to the very circumference of society, or he may be a blessing spreading benediction over the length and breadth of the world. But a blank he cannot be: there are no moral blanks; there are no neutral characters.” [Thomas Chalmers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-chalmers/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human actions inherently affect society, either positively or negatively, leaving no moral neutrality. **In simple terms:** All individuals shape moral outcomes. Key Takeaway No one is morally neutral. Themes morality influence human agency good vs evil social impact ethical responsibility Mood reflective cautious thoughtful Type philosophical proverbial didactic When to use this quote - leadership decisions - media messaging - educational curricula - community organizing - policy making Key Concepts moral agency social influence ethical dualism human nature Practical Applications - ethical training programs - social impact assessments Questions to Reflect On - How does this view challenge the notion of 'neutral' observers? - In what ways can individuals become aware of their unintended influence? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Benediction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/benediction/) [Blank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blank/) [Blank Moral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blank-moral-348258/) [Blessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blessing/) [Breadth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/breadth/) [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Dark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dark/) [Design](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/design/) [Evangelism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evangelism/) [Every man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/every-man/) [Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil/) [Forever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forever/) [Influence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/influence/) [Length](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/length/) [Man Missionary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man-missionary-348255/) [May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/may/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Missionary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/missionary/) [Missionary Forever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/missionary-forever-348256/) [Missions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/missions/) [Moral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moral/) [Moral Blanks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moral-blanks-348257/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [Every man is a missionary, now and forever, for good or for evil, whether he intends or designs it or not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-chalmers/every-man-is-a-missionary-now-and-forever-for-good-or-for-evil-2/) [Thomas Chalmers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-chalmers/) > [There are no moral blanks; there are no neutral characters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-chalmers/there-are-no-moral-blanks-there-are-no-neutral-characters/) [Thomas Chalmers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-chalmers/) > [The thought of our past years in me doth breed perpetual benedictions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wordsworth/the-thought-of-our-past-years-in-me-doth-breed-perpetual-benedictions/) [William Wordsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wordsworth/) > [And off in the far distance, the gold on the wings of the angel atop the bell tower of San Marco flashed in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-leon/and-off-in-the-far-distance-the-gold-on-the-wings-of-the-angel-atop/) [Donna Leon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-leon/) > [I would injure no man, and should provoke no resentment. I would relieve every distress, and should enjoy the benedictions of gratitude. I would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/i-would-injure-no-man-and-should-provoke-no-resentment-i-would/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [No matter where the skeptical thought originates, or how it gets access to our minds, we see at once that it flattens the level…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-salter-storrs/no-matter-where-the-skeptical-thought-originates-or-how-it-gets/) [Richard Salter Storrs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-salter-storrs/) > [The great majority of people will go on observing forms that cannot be explained; they will keep Christmas Day with Christmas gifts and Christmas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-great-majority-of-people-will-go-on-observing-forms-that-cannot/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [For the past eighty years I have started each day in the same manner... I go to the piano, and I play preludes and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-casals/for-the-past-eighty-years-i-have-started-each-day-in-the-same-manner/) [Pablo Casals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-casals/) > [If upon this earth we ever have a glimpse of heaven,it is when we pass a home in winter, at night,and through the windows,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/if-upon-this-earth-we-ever-have-a-glimpse-of-heaven-it-is-when-we/) [Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) > [My fervent supplications to that Almighty Being who rules over the universe; who presides in the councils of nations; and whose providential aid can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/my-fervent-supplications-to-that-almighty-being-who-rules-over-the/) [George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/) > [Wherever the standard of freedom and independence has been or shall be unfurled, there will be America's heart, her benedictions and her prayers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-quincy-adams/wherever-the-standard-of-freedom-and-independence-has-been-or-shall/) [John Quincy Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-quincy-adams/) > [Every moment brings us some benediction. Even the rough hand of trial holds in its clasp for us some treasure of love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-miller/every-moment-brings-us-some-benediction-even-the-rough-hand-of-trial/) [J.R. Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-miller/) > [He raised his hands, not to strike, but in benediction. Lincoln was the grandest figure of the fiercest civil war. He is the gentlest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/he-raised-his-hands-not-to-strike-but-in-benediction-lincoln-was-the/) [Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) > [With stillness comes the benediction of peace”. “Thinking isolates a situation or event and calls it good or bad, as if it had a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/with-stillness-comes-the-benediction-of-peace-thinking-isolates-a/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [“It is no sign of benediction to have been obsessed with the lives of saints, for it is an obsession intertwined with a taste…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emil-cioran/it-is-no-sign-of-benediction-to-have-been-obsessed-with-the-lives-of/) [Emil Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emil-cioran/) ## More by Thomas Chalmers > [O Heavenly Father, convert my religion from a name to a principle! Bring all my thoughts and movements into an habitual reference to Thee!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-chalmers/o-heavenly-father-convert-my-religion-from-a-name-to-a-principle/) [Thomas Chalmers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-chalmers/) > [It has been said that there is nothing more uncommon than common sense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-chalmers/it-has-been-said-that-there-is-nothing-more-uncommon-than-common-sense/) [Thomas Chalmers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-chalmers/) > [Enthusiasm is a virtue rarely to be met with in seasons of calm and unruffled prosperity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-chalmers/enthusiasm-is-a-virtue-rarely-to-be-met-with-in-seasons-of-calm-and/) [Thomas Chalmers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-chalmers/) > [The human mind feels restless and dissatisfied under the anxieties of ignorance. It longs for the repose of conviction; and to gain this repose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-chalmers/the-human-mind-feels-restless-and-dissatisfied-under-the-anxieties-of/) [Thomas Chalmers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-chalmers/) > [Infidelity gives nothing in return for what it takes away. What, then, is it worth? Everything valuable as a compensating power. Not a blade…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-chalmers/infidelity-gives-nothing-in-return-for-what-it-takes-away-what-then/) [Thomas Chalmers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-chalmers/) > [Acts of virtue ripen into habits; and the goodly and permanent result is the formation or establishment of a virtuous character.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-chalmers/acts-of-virtue-ripen-into-habits-and-the-goodly-and-permanent-result/) [Thomas Chalmers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-chalmers/) > [Shakespeare is an intellectual miracle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-chalmers/shakespeare-is-an-intellectual-miracle/) [Thomas Chalmers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-chalmers/) > [I want to feel my own nothingness, I want to give myself up in absolute resignation to God, to lie prostrate and passive at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-chalmers/i-want-to-feel-my-own-nothingness-i-want-to-give-myself-up-in/) [Thomas Chalmers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-chalmers/) > [Not till we come to a simple reliance on the blood and mediation of the Saviour, shall we know what it is either to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-chalmers/not-till-we-come-to-a-simple-reliance-on-the-blood-and-mediation-of/) [Thomas Chalmers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-chalmers/) > [The sum and substance of the preparation needed for a coming eternity is that you believe what the Bible tells you, and do what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-chalmers/the-sum-and-substance-of-the-preparation-needed-for-a-coming-eternity/) [Thomas Chalmers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-chalmers/) > [By the very constitution of our nature moral evil is its own curse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-chalmers/by-the-very-constitution-of-our-nature-moral-evil-is-its-own-curse/) [Thomas Chalmers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-chalmers/) > [It is in those times of hopeless chaos when the sovereign hand of God is most likely to be seen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-chalmers/it-is-in-those-times-of-hopeless-chaos-when-the-sovereign-hand-of-god/) [Thomas Chalmers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-chalmers/) > [It is not scholarship alone, but scholarship impregnated with religion, that tells on the great mass of society. We have no faith in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-chalmers/it-is-not-scholarship-alone-but-scholarship-impregnated-with-religion/) [Thomas Chalmers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-chalmers/) > [Infidelity is one of those coinages,-a mass of base money that won't pass current with any heart that loves truly, or any head that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-chalmers/infidelity-is-one-of-those-coinages-a-mass-of-base-money-that-won-t/) [Thomas Chalmers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-chalmers/) > [Such is the grasping tendency of the human heart, that it must have a something to lay hold of—and which, if wrested away without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-chalmers/such-is-the-grasping-tendency-of-the-human-heart-that-it-must-have-a/) [Thomas Chalmers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-chalmers/) [Explore all 45 Thomas Chalmers quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-chalmers/) ## More Benediction quotes > [“It is no sign of benediction to have been obsessed with the lives of saints, for it is an obsession intertwined with a taste…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emil-cioran/it-is-no-sign-of-benediction-to-have-been-obsessed-with-the-lives-of/) [Emil Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emil-cioran/) > [With stillness comes the benediction of peace”. “Thinking isolates a situation or event and calls it good or bad, as if it had a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/with-stillness-comes-the-benediction-of-peace-thinking-isolates-a/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [He raised his hands, not to strike, but in benediction. Lincoln was the grandest figure of the fiercest civil war. He is the gentlest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/he-raised-his-hands-not-to-strike-but-in-benediction-lincoln-was-the/) [Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) > [Every moment brings us some benediction. Even the rough hand of trial holds in its clasp for us some treasure of love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-miller/every-moment-brings-us-some-benediction-even-the-rough-hand-of-trial/) [J.R. Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-miller/) > [Wherever the standard of freedom and independence has been or shall be unfurled, there will be America's heart, her benedictions and her prayers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-quincy-adams/wherever-the-standard-of-freedom-and-independence-has-been-or-shall/) [John Quincy Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-quincy-adams/) > [My fervent supplications to that Almighty Being who rules over the universe; who presides in the councils of nations; and whose providential aid can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/my-fervent-supplications-to-that-almighty-being-who-rules-over-the/) [George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/) > [If upon this earth we ever have a glimpse of heaven,it is when we pass a home in winter, at night,and through the windows,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/if-upon-this-earth-we-ever-have-a-glimpse-of-heaven-it-is-when-we/) [Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) > [For the past eighty years I have started each day in the same manner... I go to the piano, and I play preludes and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-casals/for-the-past-eighty-years-i-have-started-each-day-in-the-same-manner/) [Pablo Casals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-casals/) > [The great majority of people will go on observing forms that cannot be explained; they will keep Christmas Day with Christmas gifts and Christmas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-great-majority-of-people-will-go-on-observing-forms-that-cannot/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [No matter where the skeptical thought originates, or how it gets access to our minds, we see at once that it flattens the level…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-salter-storrs/no-matter-where-the-skeptical-thought-originates-or-how-it-gets/) [Richard Salter Storrs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-salter-storrs/) > [I would injure no man, and should provoke no resentment. I would relieve every distress, and should enjoy the benedictions of gratitude. I would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/i-would-injure-no-man-and-should-provoke-no-resentment-i-would/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [And off in the far distance, the gold on the wings of the angel atop the bell tower of San Marco flashed in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-leon/and-off-in-the-far-distance-the-gold-on-the-wings-of-the-angel-atop/) [Donna Leon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-leon/) > [The thought of our past years in me doth breed perpetual benedictions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wordsworth/the-thought-of-our-past-years-in-me-doth-breed-perpetual-benedictions/) [William Wordsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wordsworth/) > [Kind words are benedictions. The are not only instruments of power, but of benevolence and courtesy; blessings both to the speaker and hearer of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-frederick-saunders/kind-words-are-benedictions-the-are-not-only-instruments-of-power-but/) [Arthur Frederick Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-frederick-saunders/) > [May your heart always be joyful. May your song always be sung.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/may-your-heart-always-be-joyful-may-your-song-always-be-sung/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) [Browse all 76 Benediction quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/benediction/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Every man is a missionary, now and forever, for good or for evil, whether he intends or designs it or not. 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